'Breast is best' bias blamed for hundreds of dehydrated babies

Hundreds of newborn babies are being re-admitted to hospital suffering from dehydration because mothers are being warned not to resort to bottle feeding, experts claim.

Many new mothers are told not to bottle feed because it will "ruin" breastfeeding, but an increasing number are being left with babies so dehydrated they need emergency hospital care.

Critics say midwives are under pressure to meet a Department of Health target to increase breastfeeding, while some trusts are also trying to gain a Unicef breastfeeding award, called the Baby Friendly Initiative.

The Sunday Telegraph has learnt that guidance on post-natal care, due out later this month from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, recommends that every hospital in Britain should seek Unicef BFI status - which can cost up to £15,000.

Experts estimate that most hospitals see at least one baby a week re-admitted for rehydration due to failed breastfeeding. Nationally, that could mean 250 infants a week need hospital care. The paediatrician Dr Ganesh Supramaniam, who has 35 years' experience in the National Health Service but now runs a private practice, said: "It is a major problem and it is increasing. Breastfeeding is best, but it is dangerous to say, 'Don't use formula at any stage'. Dehydration can cause renal failure and severe jaundice can lead to brain damage. What is not helpful is this militant attitude of breastfeeding or nothing."

Clare Byam-Cook, a breastfeeding counsellor and author of What to Expect When You are Breastfeeding, said: "The problem is getting worse. The reality is midwives are all too often not teaching women the correct way to breastfeed." A recent Mori poll of 500 new mothers showed that nine out of 10 mothers had difficulties breastfeeding, and a third said the advice they received was not relevant.

Larissa Murray experienced severe problems breastfeeding her baby Maya Grace when the child was two days old, leading to emergency treatment for dehydration and jaundice. Miss Murray, 36, of Herne Hill, south London, gave birth in St Thomas' Hospital: "I went home 12 hours after the birth. I felt I wasn't shown how to feed properly. We thought the baby had a lovely skin tone but we now know it was jaundice, and she wasn't feeding well.

"I saw Clare Byam-Cook and she told me to ring the hospital. We took her to King's College Hospital. She was admitted straight away and we had to give her formula every three hours." The Royal College of Midwives (RCM) last night acknowledged there was a problem. Janet Fyle, an RCM professional policy adviser, said: "It is not about a lack of knowledge, but a lack of time. The emphasis is around birth and once you have had a healthy baby, it is job done. We are making a grave mistake if we assume this."